Parlous Passion
by DarkNiiinja
Summary: Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster share feelings for Lucy Heartfilia; however, Lucy's feelings vary between them. She soon realizes she needs to choose between fire and ice, but will she be able to in time?
1. Just the Beginning

**Parlous Passion**

Chapter 1

It was just another day in Fiore and the Fairy Tail guild was alive as ever.

"Pull the icepick out of your ass! Lucy just wants to know which dress would be best for the feast, you perv!" Natsu Dragneel growled, staring Gray dead in the eye.

Grudgingly, Gray Fullbuster threw a punch directed toward Natsu's face. "And I said none!" When Gray's fist made contact with his target, Natsu flew across the room and crashed into a pillar. "Is that worth freaking out over? I wasn't suggesting she go naked if that's what you're implying."

"Damn straight that's what I'm implying. You, of all people, would advise she go naked." Natsu got back on his feet and gave Gray a mischievous grin like he was ready to throw down.

"Yeah? And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You're the one not wearing clothes at the moment."

Gray looked down to his bare body and shrieked. Natsu took his chance to strike since Gray's surprise lowered his guard. Natsu leaped at Gray and the two of them battled it out. As the fight continued, many items flew around the guild hall leading to the point of an entire Fairy Tail riot.

Meanwhile, Lucy Heartfilia sat at the bar, bewildered and still holding two dresses in her hands. I voice came from behind her, "If you ask me, I think I have a perfect outfit for you." Lucy turned to Mirajane Strauss behind the bar, "It's a cute black and pink dress with matching jewelry; it'll bring out your Fairy Tail mark. We're about the same size, it should be fine. I can drop by tomorrow before the feast so we can glamour you up." Mira's smile and confidence in her offer relieved Lucy of her fashion crisis.

"Really? I would be grateful! And I'm not sure I need a full blow makeover though. It's just Fairy Tail's anniversary feast, nothing too fancy."

"Yes, but I think getting you all dolled up would be fun! It never hurts to look your best."

Lucy smiled, overjoyed. "Thank you, Mira! I'm so happy to have a friend like you and not just some hotheads that don't know when to stop." She said with exasperation.

Mira giggled. "No problem! And those 'hotheads' seem to only act that way when you're around. That doesn't sound coincidental to me."

"Well, I'm stuck with them. What do you expect?"

"But you're not with them twenty-four seven. They've slowly gotten closer over the years, and when you are at home or not present, they are fine being in the same room. But once you enter, it's like they go back to how they used to be."

Lucy frowned. "I'm I truly that unsettling?"

Despite Lucy's dismay, Mira smiled genuinely, "I would think so, yes." Lucy lowered her head. "But in the best way. They don't fight _because_ of you," she paused to see Lucy's interest pique and confusion line her face, "they fight _over_ you, Lucy." Lucy flushed at the sound of that sentence. "Although, I guess that would mean they are technically fighting _because_ of you… just not in a bad way…. It's _because_ of you that they…" Mira trailed on, but Lucy stopped listening, too shocked by Mirajane's previous words.

Lucy snapped out of the haze and stepped down from the bar stool. With the most cheerful voice she could manage, she boasted, "Who can blame them? I'm too irresistible with my natural beauty and feminine charm!" She gave an enthralling grin. "Well, I'm gonna head home for now. I'll see you tomorrow before the feast."

"Always so self-confident." Mira chuckled. "Goodnight. See you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight." Lucy turned and left the guild hall, but not before one last glance in Natsu and Gray's direction. They were still brawling and throwing each other from wall to wall; very noticeable amongst the uproar they had created of the Fairy Tail Guild. This made Lucy laugh, "They're fighting over _you_," a voice said in her head. Lucy's smile vanished. That assumption made it almost embarrassing to stand in front of the guild doors, the very doors that welcomed her to this new life in Fairy Tail, a life suddenly filled with complication and confusion.

Quickly, Lucy shot down the steps and headed home. Just the thought of Natsu and Gray's affection made her blush.

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! This is my _first ever_ fanfic, so _PLEASE_ let me know how I did and what I need improving on. I am open to constructive criticism!**

**And if you liked this, then please review, favorite, and follow! I will try to update this story as often as possible, at _least_ twice a week. Thanks again and I hope to see you next chapter!**


	2. Physical Perfection

Chapter 2

Within the peace of Lucy's unconscious, an uninvited voice interrupted her deep sleep, "Wakey, wakey, Lucy!" She opened her eyes to a large, lively smile and gorgeous pink hair that sparkled in the light of dawn. However, such brilliant features did not compensate for the fact that he was unwelcome in her apartment.

Lucy screamed, "What are you doing here? _Get out_!" she grabbed the closest thing in her reach and smacked Natsu with her pillow. As Natsu's body hit the floor, Lucy was able to see behind him, and to her dismay, found Erza Scarlet at the table enjoying the cake Lucy had baked. "Erza! No! I made that for the feast tonight!"

Erza looked in Lucy's direction as if noticing her presence for the first time. "Oh! I apologize! I did not mean to fall victim to this delicious cake. You may strike me if you wish!"

"Erza…" Lucy sighed, "I've told you before: hitting you won't help anything…."

The bathroom door flew open and Gray emerged with a towel around his waist. "Good morning, Lucy."

Lucy hesitated, taking in the sight of a slick muscular build. She had seen him many times with only his boxers, but this was different…. With a mere towel cover, his damp hair, and moist skin, his body seemed almost angelic. Lucy tried distracting herself from the devastating view, "W-would you put some clothes on? And who gave you permission to use my bath?!"

"No one was using it when I got here so I figured I would before the party."

"So you decided to get ready at my—"

"Hey, Lucy!" Happy flew in front of Lucy's face, cutting off her sentence. "You're finally awake! Did you know you snore in—"

Lucy whacked Happy to the side. "Shut up you stupid cat!" She looked back up at Gray as he turned to go into the bathroom again. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? I was talking to you!" Ignoring Lucy, Gray closed the door. "You are so _rude_!" She shot off the bed, "You listen to a girl when she's talking to you!" She forced open the door. "Do you hear m—" Lucy froze and blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Hey! Can a man change in peace?" Gray's towel lay on the floor and the only clothing on his body, was his boxers that dangled from his hand.

"Whoa..." was all Lucy could manage.

"And yes, I heard you. You wanted me to put some clothes on, right?" He paused for a response then realization hit. He swung the boxers in front of his hips as coverage and blushed.

They stood there with eyes locked for a few seconds longer before Lucy finally spoke up. "I'm gonna let you finish me... finish changing! I mean finish changing...!" She slammed the door and took a deep breath. She stood there trying to compose herself and once she felt confident enough, she walked into the kitchen as casually as possible.

Erza looked up, "Everything okay?"

Lucy grabbed some cereal from the cupboard. "Huh? Yeah! Of course! Everything's fine! Just grabbing a bowl of cereal." she jabbered nervously and pulled a fake smile.

Erza didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure? What happened in—"

"Yes! I'm fine!" Lucy poured the milk in her bowl and sat down at the table to eat. Her emotions ran wild. _Why did I just stand there?_ She thought to herself, _It was so..._ Lucy's face turned bright red.

Gray walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed, and went to make himself a sandwich. Lucy made it a point to avoid eye contact. She glanced apprehensively anywhere except in Gray's direction. Erza had finally polished off the cake despite the fuss Lucy had made about it earlier, and Natsu and Happy were jumping on the bed, ecstatic as usual. Normally Lucy would be enraged, but their joy and exultant laughter made her smile. By now, she couldn't care less about their intrusion and behavior. There was no reason to argue, they weren't leaving no matter what she said.

Lucy's tranquility faltered as Gray sat in her line of sight. "Can I sit here?" he asked as he bit into his sandwich.

"Um, yeah..." Lucy's heart began to race as images flashed through her mind once more.

There was a knock at the door and Lucy bolted out of her chair, desperate for a distraction. She opened the door and Mira stood there with a box in her arms. She smiled cheerfully, "Ready for your makeover?"

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! This is my _first ever_ fanfic, so _PLEASE_ let me know how I did and what I need improving on. I am open to constructive criticism!**

**And if you liked this, then please review, favorite, and follow! I will try to update this story as often as possible, at _least_ twice a week. Thanks again and I hope to see you next chapter!**


	3. Fire of Desire

Chapter 3

While Mirajane finished Lucy's makeup in Lucy's bedroom, they got to talking about the little Gray incident that had occurred earlier that day. "So?" Mirajane asked after Lucy finished the story, "What did you think?"

Lucy blushed, a little taken aback by the question, "I don't know…. It wasn't too bad…. I mean, it was… it was impressive actually…."

Mira giggled, "How did you feel?"

"When we just stood there?" She paused to think about it. "I-It was awkward of course, but honestly… I kinda wanted to see it again…." Lucy peeked at Mira with the eye she wasn't painting to see her reaction. Mira just smiled and said nothing for a moment.

"Well, how do you feel about him overall?"

Lucy thought for a moment. She thought about his lean, muscular body, his perfect outline, and his dark blue hair that matched his Fairy Tail mark. His appearance was captivating, Lucy sighed with desire. "He definitely has the physical appeal…."

Just then, Natsu shot through the door, "Hey, Luce!" Lucy and Mira jumped in unison from the surprise. Natsu stopped and took a hard look at Lucy's face. Almost instantly, he began laughing his ass off, grabbing the rim of the door for support.

The girls glanced at each other in confusion, then Mira's eyes widened at the sight of eyeliner trailing down Lucy's cheek. "Oh my!"

"_What_?" Lucy brought the mirror to her face and screamed.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean—" Mira began.

"It's fine, Mira." Lucy stood up and walked over to Natsu who was recovering from his laughter. "What the hell do you want, Natsu? This better be good."

He looked up at Lucy and strained to hold in the laughter. "I'm bored."

Lucy gave Natsu the death glare, "You did this to my face because you were bored?"

"_I_ didn't do it!"

"You were the one who barged in, scaring Mira and I, which resulted in this." Lucy pointed at her marked cheek. "So as far as I'm concerned, this is your fault. I'm trying to get ready for the feast and I don't need you here ruining everything."

Natsu said nothing at first and saw the irritation lining her face. His smile faded and he became sincere, "I'm sorry, Lucy. I didn't mean to scare you girls, I just wanted to hang out to tame my boredom."

Lucy hesitated, not expecting his sudden sincerity. His spontaneous change in attitude made her heart flutter. She always admired his ability to go from boisterous and witty to calm and serious in a split second. It gave him a mysterious side and made her ask herself if maybe he was just playing an act all along. Maybe Natsu puts up this wall of naïveté to hide his anger and sorrows from the rest of them. After all, the only time Lucy ever sees Natsu austere is in battle when he's fighting for his guild and for his friends. They say in times of great difficulties, a person's true colors are shown. What if that rage and anguish was all Natsu ever felt? That he covered them up to protect his loved ones from seeing his pain through his eyes? Was Natsu's smile ever real?

Lucy frowned, "I'm sorry." Natsu looked shocked at her words. "You can hang out, just don't touch anything."

Natsu looked at Lucy skeptically, as if he suspected a trick. He slowly made his way to sit on the bed, allowing a little extra time for Lucy to protest, but she did not. Lucy smiled and sat back on the bed with Mira and she began fixing up the misplaced eyeliner.

Mira did the final touch ups to Lucy's make up while Natsu watched intently, his face only inches from Lucy's, but far enough to the side to stay out of Mira's light; this made Mira grin. Lucy, aware of the little distance between her and Natsu, struggled with the blood that rushed to her cheeks and her breathing that grew more and more unsteady as he studied her attentively.

Finally Natsu broke the silence, "Girls do all this just to look prettier? It seems like a lot of work for such a pointless outcome."

"All done!" Mira said lifting the mirror to Lucy's face.

Lucy smiled at her reflection in approval to Mira's art and then she looked up at Natsu, "Does this look like a 'pointless outcome' to you?"

Natsu looked into Lucy's eyes, confused by her obliviousness. "I mean… I thought you were beautiful, even before you put on the makeup."

Lucy heart sped up at the subtle compliment and she found herself at a loss for words.

Mira spoke, "Makeup is meant to highlight the beauty of the face."

"Well, yeah, but… I still don't see the point in all that work just to bring out her features that are already so enticing alone." He paused, his eyes unwavering from Lucy's face. "Not that you don't look incredible now! I'm just saying that you don't need all that work when you're perfect already."

Lucy froze, staring into Natsu's intense gaze, his eyes, large and full of wonder. Lucy's breathing grew irregular once more and her heart raced faster and faster with every breath she took. She could see his genuine compassion and it made her remember that he was a man and not a child. This realization gave her goose bumps; she knew there was more to him than his puerile nature that seemed to define him.

Natsu seemed enchanted as he drank in every feature of Lucy's flawless face. Her kind eyes, for the first time, welcomed his in a long, affectionate stare and his thoughts scrambled. He knew his feelings for Lucy, he had known for a while now, but it wasn't until this moment that he realized just how strong they were. They sat there on the bed, enthralled by one another's alluring presence and the lack of distance between them.

Mira, catching onto the moment immediately, stealthily got off the bed and headed for the bathroom to stay out of their way. Natsu and Lucy noticed the movement out of the corner of their eyes, snapping them back to reality. Both blushed as they realized just how long they had been staring into one another's eyes. "Where are you going, Mira?" Lucy asked, trying to push aside her embarrassment.

"Just to the little girl's room. I figured now would be the best time before we put on your dress and jewelry." She smirked then closed the bathroom door, leaving Natsu and Lucy sitting on the edge of the bed side by side.

**I apologize for the delay in updating, I have been very busy lately, and a dear pet of mine recently passed from a tumor, so again, I'm sorry, I haven't really been in the mood for writing.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! This is my _first ever _fanfic, so _PLEASE_ let me know how I did and what I need improving on. I am open to constructive criticism!**

**And if you liked this, then please review, favorite, and follow! I will try to update this story as often as possible, at _least_ twice a week. Thanks again and I hope to see you next chapter!**


	4. Merciless Women

Chapter 4

Lucy sat silent staring at the floor away from Natsu, trying to steady her rapped breathing; while Natsu sat tense only a foot away from the girl of his dreams. The sound of running water in the tub echoed from within the bathroom. Natsu and Lucy were both fully aware of the situation Mira had put them in, and they didn't expect her to come out any time soon.

Natsu's fingers tightened into a fist. He gripped his pants to hold his hands down. Here he sat… alone with Lucy for the first time since his feelings were recognized. Every muscle in his body ached. His imagination went wild. He remembered her gaze only moments ago, those deep brown eyes that seemed to swallow him whole. He was desperate for that attention once more. He wanted to satisfy his desire. He wanted to stroke her smooth and flawless skin…. He wanted to kiss her delicate and immaculate lips…. He wanted to run his fingers through her soft golden hair….

He found his eyes fixated on Lucy still staring at the carpet. His lips twitched, searching for the right words. "So you excited for the—"

"Why are you here again?" Lucy snapped her head around, cutting off Natsu. "Why aren't _you_ getting ready? That was part of the reason Mira kicked all of you out when she got here." Lucy worshipped Mira after she had done that. Somehow Lucy was unable to kick the intruders out of her own apartment no matter what she did; but her visiting friend could do it no problem. Lucy took a side note for the future.

Natsu hesitated, surprised at the sudden harshness in her voice, "I-I didn't have anything else to do…. Happy's at the Guild setting up because they needed some wing power. A-and I just need to put on a tux and I'm good to go. I don't do anything special. We still have two hours until it starts, I have time." He grinned in an attempt to lighten her up a bit.

It certainly had an effect on Lucy. Her chest ached. Oh, how she loved that smile. She couldn't control her emotions anymore. She couldn't understand how they could change so suddenly over a simple smirk. How could she stay mad at—there was a knock at the door. "Uh," Lucy, frantic and realizing how this picture of their current situation could be perceived, scooted another foot away from Natsu and his eyes saddened. "come in!"

The door opened and Gray walked in. "Hey." He was already dressed up in a black suit and a vivid duke blue dress shirt with the first couple buttons undone at the top. His casually worn formal attire was breath taking and fit perfectly on his slim build. He looked up at Natsu, "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Natsu shot back.

"I came to offer Lucy an escort to the feast. What about you?" he hissed again.

"Am I not allowed to hang out with Lucy?"

"I came in here to see you two alone in a room on a bed together. I think an explanation is in order." Gray's words held anger, but his face hinted at disappointment and sorrow.

"Well that's none of your b—"

"Stop it, you two!" Lucy turned to Gray, "We weren't doing anything. Natsu just came to hangout because he had nothing better to do."

"He did to! He could have been helping set up at the guild!"

"Well that wasn't any fun, so I left and came here instead."

"Would you two _knock it off_!" Both men looked at Lucy, unphased by her outburst, patiently waiting for her to speak. Lucy sighed, "Gray that's sweet of you to come pick me up, but I'm not ready yet. Mira's taking a bath right now, so—"

The bathroom door opened and Mira stood there in her towel. "You too?!" she said in dismay and gave a sympathetic look in Lucy's direction.

"W-what?" Gray seemed offended.

"I heard yelling so I hopped out of the bath to make sure everything was alright…. I guess I know the reason now…." Mira walked over to the bed and grabbed the hanger with her dress on it. "I'm gonna go change, Lucy, why don't you grab you're dress too." She turned to the boys, "You two be nice while we're in there." Mira was dead serious and that scared even Natsu and Gray. She turned to give them one last death stare and then she went into the bathroom, Lucy following behind.

"Why is Gray here?" Mira whispered as she dried herself off.

"Gray wanted to take me to the feast." Lucy was beginning to feel sick to her stomach. She didn't like being the reason for conflicts, especially between her friends. "What do I do? I don't want them to fight…. that's not right…." She was still unsure of their feelings for her. The moment her and Natsu had a few minutes ago was definitely a puzzle piece to the truth, but it wasn't enough to confirm anything for Lucy. _Maybe Natsu doesn't feel anything romantic towards me._ Lucy thought to herself. _Or maybe… maybe he doesn't know he does yet…._ Her positivity spiked then instantly plummeted as she realized just how excited she was at the thought of that, she didn't like it.

Mira saw the change in Lucy's expressions, "Well, you don't know how you feel about either of them, right? All there is to do now is keep them tame so they aren't constantly biting at each other's throats."

"But how do we do that?"

Mira thought as they zipped up one another's dresses. _Erza seems to be the most effective person to be able to keep those two in order. Lucy couldn't even get them out of her own apartment. So maybe when they fight, Erza could strip them of a job each time._ Mira frowned. _But that's kinda mean, taking money away from them like that…._

A voice came from the depths of Mira's head, _They need to be disciplined! They have been fighting long enough. Show no mercy!_

_But that also takes them away from Lucy while on their missions! That's just evil… they love her, there's no need to go that far…._

The voice returned, _Then if they want to spend time with Lucy, they gotta earn it! She's a privilege. It's like potty training dogs! Lucy's like the house and Gray and Natsu are a dog. When the dog is allowed to enter the house, it plays around, bounces up and down, up and down, up and down, then it gets so excited… it pees! That's when you pull it out! Take them away from the pleasure of being inside the house until they understand that—_

_I get it, I get it!_ Mira felt disgusted. _I didn't need the bad metaphor…._

Mira thought it over and decided the plan of taking away their privileges wasn't all that bad after all. "Well, they are fighting over _you_, so—"

"I'll just smack 'em when they misbehave!"

Mira spun Lucy around expecting to see a smirk of sarcasm, but her face was full of pure triumph.

"That's not what I was—"

Lucy jump up and squeezed Mirajane. "Oh, thank you, Mira! You give the best advice!"

"U-um… yeah, no problem…." Mira, not wanting to ruin Lucy's positivity, said no more on that subject. "So are we all done here?" Mira had done her makeup before she arrived so she could focus on Lucy while she was here; so at this point, their get ups looked complete.

Lucy checked herself out in the mirror. Her flowy, pink dress was strapless and stopped mid-thigh. It was laced in black on the breasts. She had a set of earrings and a necklace to match. The pennants were pink Fairy Tail symbols, matching the shade of the dress, then outlined in black. "This outfit is perfect, Mira! It's so simple, yet so elegant. Thank you, again!" Lucy looked over Mira. "Whoa! You look great too!"

Mira wore a long draping, spaghetti-strap dress that reached the floor. Its bright blue coloring was clouded and blended with complimentary purple. At the bottom left side of the skirt was a beautiful, Hawaiian style floral design that matched the pleated cloth on the breast of the dress. She wore blue and purple flower pennants on her necklace and dangle earrings. She looked flawless. "Thank you! I'm glad you like it!"

The two of them walked out of the bathroom and froze as they found Natsu and Gray wrestling on the floor. Lucy's emotions ran wild, her muscles tensed and her heart raced with pure rage, she was fed up. She stomped over and smacked them both in the face. "Didn't Mira tell you two to behave yourselves?"

The boys froze, stunned at both being slapped and the fact that a gorgeous woman stood over them like an angel. However, once they reached the face of said angel, fear swept in. Lucy scowled down at them, burning her frustration into their souls.

Natsu and Gray clung to each other begging, "Please don't kill us! We're sorry."

Lucy took into consideration that their pleas referred to both of them and not just themselves. That showed, at the very least, that they don't completely hate one another. "Fine. But you better feel lucky I spared your lives." She said, enjoying the terror she gave them.

Lucy turned to Mira with a big exultant smile. Mira just stood there feeling like a fool. _Of course!_ She thought. Lucy held their hearts, Lucy was their weakness. She wasn't able to get them out of her apartment because part of her couldn't care less, she was used to them visiting unannounced. Part of her also wanted them to stay, she found comfort in their presence, so her anger wasn't pure. It was a cover. She let them stay unconsciously, she let them to win.

But just now, every part of her hated the idea of friends fighting, especially over her. Every muscle, every nerve in her body was against their bickering and battles. Her rage had no mercy, the boys could see it, they could feel her disliking in the situation. They felt the anger radiating off of her and did not like it one bit.

Mira grinned. _Lucy, you are awesome._

**¡ALTERNATE ENDING!**

**So while I was writing this chapter, I stopped to get a snack on paragraph 3. So my little sister decided it was a good idea to sneak in and finish my story for me... this is how it ended: (I stopped at the "/")**

He found his eyes fixated on Lucy as she distracted herself from his presence / by singing herself to sleep:

"Dave likes to wear

dirty underwear

with little hairs!"

Then she fell asleep, so he grabbed her and put her on a stick. She lives the rest of her life as a corndog.

The End

P.S. Dave has pubes

**LOL Yes, that is my sister. I had to share. Let me know what you thought of this alternate ending, cause I thought it was pure genius. ;)**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! This is my _first ever_ fanfic, so _PLEASE_ let me know how I did and what I need improving on. I am open to constructive criticism!**

**And if you liked this, then please review, favorite, and follow! I will try to update this story as often as possible, at _least_ twice a week. Thanks again and I hope to see you next chapter!**


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